Editor's Statement

By Brad Quartuccio

One thing the bicycle has afforded me in abundance is friends in far off places. The summer season that has just passed truly hit it home, as I couch surfed through at least six cities and had more people than I can remember do the same in my living room. Oddly enough none of the sleeping arrangements were the result of direct, “You travel here, and someday I’ll travel there” type trades but more the overall willingness of cyclists to host others, trading accommodations in a big cloud of secret handshake free housing. One vouches for another, no one breaks anything expensive, everyone sleeps for free.

It happens in every subculture, and it surely feels just the same. This amazing family that you only get to meet through a shared obsession but otherwise end up sharing all manner of experiences with, not to mention tales over dinner.

On the cycling side, getting the inside line on where to go and how to get there is priceless, and can lead to the kinds of rides like the one pictured above—doubletrack trails winding through the forests that overlook Oakland, all on a completely inappropriate loaner DeRosa track bike. So fun it feels like cheating, but I’m not sure who’s the house.

Far off places seem to be the running theme of this issue, with I Love Riding in the City contributions from across the globe and four feature stories about places outside of the borders of the United States. John Prolly touching down in Tokyo for the Cycle Messenger World Championships 2009, Gregg Culver declaring victory in rarely aggressive German traffic, Samuel Hester introducing us to Edmonton’s BikeWorks community bike shop, and Julian Birch sharing his Love Letters Written in Horseshit inspired from his riding around London. Contributions reflecting no fewer than 12 countries. I Love
Riding in the City indeed.